Bamboo charcoal, commonly used as a fuel component, a deodorizer, or an absorbent, is produced by heating bamboo at very high temperature in an airless vessel. Bamboo vinegar is a natural liquid derived from the condensed vapor procured in bamboo charcoal production. Bamboo vinegar is composed of 80%˜90% water, high acetic acid, tar and many other organic constituents and has sour and smoky odors and with PH of 2.5 to 2.8 (Akakabe Y, Tamura Y, Iwamoto S, Takabayashi M, Nyuugaku T. Volatile organic compounds with characteristic odor in bamboo vinegar. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2006 November; 70(11):2797-9). It has been widely added to soap or toothpaste used as an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and deodorant agent. It is also applied in cosmetics and horticultural products. Composting is an effective methodology for the treatment of organic waste; however, the disadvantages of composting are the nitrogen loss through ammonia volatilization and the presence of heavy metals. Addition of bamboo vinegar to pig manure composting is able reduce nitrogen loss and immobilize Cu and Zn (Chen Y X, Huang X D, Han Z Y, Huang X, Hu B, Shi D Z, Wu W X. Effects of bamboo charcoal and bamboo vinegar on nitrogen conservation and heavy metals immobility during pig manure composting. Chemosphere. 2010; 78(9): 1177-81).
Bamboo vinegar is recognized to show herbal properties including the ability to assist in the discharge of unnecessary waste matters and toxins from the human bodies. In Japan, bamboo vinegar even has become health food drinks. Since bamboo vinegar is produced along with bamboo charcoal production, the safety and possible carcinogenicity of bamboo vinegar should be concerned if bamboo vinegar is applied in human. The carcinogenic and tumor-promoting potential of bamboo vinegar has been determined by the in vitro BALB/c 3T3 A31-1-1 cell transformation assay system and found that bamboo vinegar did not act as a tumor promoter after being diluted more than 104-fold with water (Y. Kimura, S. Suto, and M. Tatsuka, “Evaluation of Carcinogenic/Co-carcinogenic Activity of Chikusaku-eki, a Bamboo Charcoal By-product Used as a Folk Remedy, in BALB/c 3T3 Cells”, Biol. Pharm. Bull., 25:1026-1029, 2002).
Recently bamboo vinegar has drawn the attention of medical researches for the treatment of dermatitis, diabetes and other human maladies. However, none of the prior art references disclosed the use of distillong product of bamboo vinegar in inflammatory disorder.